Living in Poverty

There was an article published in The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday, February 11th. The article was titled, "Living on $6 an Hour," and basically discussed one lady's unfortunate life where she earns only $6 an hour at her current job. There were also a couple other points made. She has six kids altogether from three different men, she has to pay child support for her two oldest children, and she owns four dogs, including two bull-mastiffs. At the end of the article, the lady, Brenda, made a comment, saying, "They say this country is so rich, but why are so many people living paycheck to paycheck, just one week from being in the street?"

Perhaps so many people, as Brenda says anyway, are living dangerously to being on the street because they are making one poor choice after another. Brenda has no education beyond high school, she has six children with three different men, lives with 4 dogs, has a $6 an hour job, and pays child support for her 2 other children who she does not have custody of.

However, life is all about choices that you make. It was Brenda's choice to not go to college or even certificate-seeking courses, like a vocational school. If she did, maybe she would find herself working at another job making descent money. Oh, but that's right, she was making descent money. She had a job as a Gas Station Manager making $35,000 to $40,000 a year. Unfortunately she quit that job when she gave birth to one of her children in 1996. Let's think: with no education beyond high school, what other job will you get that pays $35,000 to $40,000 a year? There are very few out there for only a high school education, and she was outright stupid to quit the Gas Station Manager job. It's possible that she is living one paycheck away from being on the street because she decided on her own to quit that high paying job. Just maybe that is the reason. Of course, she couldn't have looked into child care for her newly born Ambur at the time, because that would've been too hard, right?

Life is tough for Brenda, though. She says that she can't figure out how she got to where she is today. Well, duh! Brenda needs to wake up and smell the coffee, if she can afford coffee, that is. She has 6 children with 3 different men. Perhaps that is another choice that she made for herself. Giving birth to six children with 3 different men who are no longer supporting her will not get you far in life, which most people would agree. If Brenda made a poor choice with the first and the second man in her life, why did she think that going on to a third man and punching out two more kids would be the best thing for her? It seems as though Brenda lacks common sense to tell herself that after the first two relationships failed, maybe she should at least give herself a break. But nonetheless, she can't figure out why she got to where she is today.

Brenda is also paying about $200 in child support every month. The real clincher is that she has been paying that amount ever since she had her high paying job as a Gas Station Manager. It's no wonder she was paying $200 every month, because with a salary of $35,000 to $40,000 a year you would most certainly be able to pay that amount. But yet, she hasn't sought the courts out for lowering her child support payments yet. The article in The Post and Courier also mentions that most weeks Brenda works 40 hours. Most weeks? Most weeks? If anyone has the exact same situation that Brenda is in, why wouldn't they do their best to work over 40 hours a week? How about a second job, Brenda? How about a third job, Brenda? When you have as many kids as she does, you have a responsibility to your kids to provide for their needs. Your first responsibility is to your kids!

But life is tough for Brenda, though. She can't understand why people are living one paycheck from being on the streets. The answer to that question would be that people make poor choices. If you have 6 different children with 3 different men, have no education beyond high school, and only desire to work at a $6 an hour job then just maybe that is the answer to all of your questions. She couldn't possibly seek out other resources that would help her financially, could she? She can't look into federal housing assistance that would help pay her rent, could she? She couldn't look into getting federal student loans to help pay for schooling that would further her education, could she? She wouldn't be able to lower her child support payments because she only makes $6 an hour, would she?

The Post and Courier tells us that the neighborhood where Brenda lives is an "economically depressed" neighborhood and over 95% of its children who live there live in poverty. If nothing else, those kids' parents have a duty and responsibility to them to make sure that they get food every day and are not in danger of eviction. A parent's foremost duty is to their children. With over 95% of those children living in that neighborhood living in poverty, it doesn't seem like those parent's are doing a great job.

Brenda says that even though this country is so rich, she can't figure out why so many people are living in poverty. To that I would say it is the choices that you make in this country that put you where you are right now. This country is rich if you can make the right choices, be a productive member of our society (by not only having common sense but also furthering your education), and by seeking help and getting to where you want to be. She needs to stop complaining that she can't figure out how she got to where she is now, stop making one poor choice after another, and start being pro-active about making good decisions and furthering not only her own life but the life of her children!

Jessica Johnson, "Living on $6 an Hour." Charleston, SC. The Post and Courier. UR: (http://www.charleston.net/)